Clothes rack and shelf.



Patented may 2|, 190|.

riley n.4. mLEY. vcm1-mas nAcK..Aun SHELF.

(Application led June 21, 1900.)

(No Model.)

@witnesses UNITED TATES ATENT FFICE.

ROBERT JOHN RILEY, OF LAFAYETTE, INDIANA.

CLOTHES RACK AND SHELF.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 674,586, dated May 21, 1901.

Application filed June 2l. 1900l Serial No. 21,102. No model.)

To all whom, it 17mg/ con/cern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT JOHN RILEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lafayette,in the county of Tippecanoe and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Clothes Rack and Shelf, of which the following is a specification.

The presentinvention relates to an improvement in folding racks or shelves; and the particular object thereof is the provision of a device of this character arranged to be supported upon a wall and adapted to be used either as a rack for drying clothes or as a shelf or platform upon which articles maybe placed.

A further object is to provide a folding device of this character that may be folded against the wall, so that it is completely out of the way and takes up but little space.

While the invention is capable of many modilcations Within the scope of the appended claims, the preferred form of construction is shown in the vaccompanying drawings and described in the following specification` In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the device in operative position. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the rack in operative position. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the rack in folded position. Fig. 4. is a horizontal cross-section, on an enlarged scale, on the line a; of Fig. 2.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

In carrying out the invention two parallel vertically-arranged guide-rods are secured at their ends to a pair of cross-strips 11,which are fastenedto a wall or other suitable support. Slidably mounted upon these guide-rods lOare the hinge members 12` to which are pivoted the supporting-rods 13. These hinge members each comprise a clip 14, bent around a sleeve 15, which slides upon the guide-rod 10. The ends of the clips 14 are provided with bolt-openings and are arranged to embrace eyes 16 of the supporting-rods 13. Bolts 17, passing through the alined openings, pivotally connect the clips and supporting-rods. Connecting the two sliding hinge members 12 is a cross-rod 18, which passes through and is bolted to the clips 14, whereby they will move in unison upon the guide-rods 10, and are securely braced thereby. An operating-handle 19 is connected to the cross-rod 18 by means of its two arms 20, which engage the crossbar just inside the sliding hinge members and are held in place by retaining-nuts 2l, Working' on threaded portions of the cross-rod. This handle is in the form of a pendent bail,

made of a single length of wire bent to form two arms, which are twisted together at their central portion, the bent portion forming a hand-grasping portion 19a;

Pivotally connected to the outer ends of the supporting-rods 13 are the brace-rods 22, the opposite ends of said brace-rods being pivotally connected to the upper ends of the guide rods 10. This is preferably accomplished by means of the clips 23, which surround the ends of the supportingrods and guide-rods, respectively, and have their ends provided with bolt-openings and embracing eyes 24 on the ends of the brace-rods. Pivotbolts 25 pass through the alined openings.

Slidably mounted upon the supporting-rods 13 is a plurality of independent transverse slats 26. The slats are preferably permanently secured upon the supportingrods by having the latter pass through 0penings27 in the former. The slats may be arranged at any distance apart and clothes may be suspended therefrom, or they may be used as a platform or shelf, as desired. The device is especially useful when placed near a stove, as it may then be used in raising bread.

In folding the device it is only necessary to force the handle upward, whereupon the device will fold compactly together, as shown in Fig. 3, the length of the hinge-clips spacing the several rods far enough apart in this position to allow room for the slats therebetween.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein-described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

IOO

l. A device of the class described, com prising a foldable support adapted to be arranged in either a horizontal or vertical position, and a plurality of slats slidably mounted upon said support and arranged to be spaced apart to form a platform, said slats being adapted to gravitate into aggroupment one upon the other upon the folding of the support into a Vertical position.

2. A device of the class described, comprisl ing a pair of vertically-arranged guide-rods,

a pair of substantially parallel supportingrods pivotally and slidably connected at one end with said guide-rods, a plurality of slats slidably arranged upon said supporting-rods forming a platform, and folding braces each having one end pivotally connected to the upper end of one of the guide-rods and the other end pivotally connected with the free end of one of the supporting-rods.

4. A device of the class described, comprising a pair of parallel guiderods, a pair of hinge members slidably mounted upon said guide-rods and connected by a cross-rod, a pair of su pporting-rods pivotally connected to the hinge members, a plurality of slats slidably mounted upon said supporting-rods, brace-rods pivotally connected with the supporting-rods,and an operating-handle secured to said cross-rod.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

ROBERT JOHN RILEY.

Witnesses:

FRANK W. SPENCER, J. HERMAN WIEBERS. 

